[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3076-3077]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-981]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0115]


Availability of an Environmental Assessment for a Biological 
Control Agent for Air Potato

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) 
relative to the control of air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera). The EA 
considers the effects of, and alternatives to, the release of an 
insect, Lilioceris cheni, into the continental United States for use as 
a biological control agent to reduce the severity of air potato 
infestations. We are making the EA available to the public for review 
and comment.

[[Page 3077]]


DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
February 18, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2010-0115 to submit or view comments and 
to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
    <bullet> Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send one copy of 
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2010-0115, Regulatory Analysis and 
Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to 
Docket No. APHIS-2010-0115.
    Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on the 
environmental assessment in our reading room. The reading room is 
located in Room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure 
someone is there to help you, please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
    Other Information: Additional information about APHIS and its 
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Shirley Wager-Page, Chief, Pest 
Permitting Branch, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 
20737-1237; (301) 734-8453.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing 
to issue permits for the release of an insect, Lilioceris cheni, into 
the continental United States for use as a biological control agent to 
reduce the severity of air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera) infestations.
    Air potato is a twining vine that can grow 65 feet long or greater, 
capable of climbing and out-competing native vegetation. Air potato was 
introduced in Florida in 1905 and has since become one of the most 
aggressive weeds in that State. In 1999, the Florida Department of 
Agricultural and Consumer Services added air potato to its list of 
noxious weeds in an attempt to protect the State's native plant species 
from being displaced or hybridized. Presently, the air potato is well 
established in Florida and probably throughout the Gulf States where it 
has the potential to severely disrupt entire ecosystems.
    Existing air potato management options, which include chemical and 
mechanical control methods, are ineffective, expensive, temporary, or 
have non-target impacts. Thus, a permit application has been submitted 
to APHIS for the purpose of releasing an insect, L. cheni, into the 
continental United States for use as a biological control agent to 
reduce the severity of air potato infestations.
    APHIS' review and analysis of the proposed action are documented in 
detail in an environmental assessment (EA) titled ``Field Release of 
Lilioceris cheni Gressit & Kimoto (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) for 
Biological Control of Air Potato, Dioscorea bulbifera (Dioscoreaceae), 
in the Continental United States'' (September 2010). We are making the 
EA available to the public for review and comment. We will consider all 
comments that we receive on or before the date listed under the heading 
DATES at the beginning of this notice.
    The EA may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in our 
reading room (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing 
Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the 
reading room). You may request paper copies of the EA by calling or 
writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 
Please refer to the title of the EA when requesting copies.
    The EA has been prepared in accordance with: (1) The National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for 
implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), (3) USDA regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) 
APHIS' NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 12th day of January 2011.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-981 Filed 1-18-11; 8:45 am]
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